Long-term overgrazing restricted the proliferation of shrubs in a desert steppe

Baolong Yan^a,b Shijie Lv^a Xiaohui Song^a Zhanwen Wang^a Zhongwu Wang^a11^∗Corresponding author: Zhongwu Wang (E-mail:zhongwuwang1979@163.com; Tel: 86-471-3985242) Guodong Han^a

^a College of Grassland, Resources and Environment/Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources of the Ministry of Education/Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Management and Utilization/Key Laboratory of Forage Cultivation, Processing and High Efficient Utilization of the Ministry of Agriculture, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010011, China.

^b Agricultural College, Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities, Tongliao, 028000, China.